WASHINGTON D.C. – We the people.

We the people, said President Barack Obama, more than ever, must work together as one nation, as one people.

Evoking the Declaration of Independence, Obama called for the pursuit of the document’s ideals through collective action and cooperation.

In his second inaugural address, Obama addressed the crowd of more than 800,000. He faced the challenge of addressing his people, four years after his first inaugural speech revealed many aspirations that remain unfulfilled.

“Faith in America’s future” was the theme of today’s inauguration.
The theme of faith ran through the ceremony – faith in the country and its future prosperity, faith in each other to work together, and faith, ultimately, in Obama.

He addressed the deficit, saying difficult choices must be made to reduce it, as well as healthcare spending, but caution will remain.

“…we reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future,” he said.

He emphasized equality throughout the speech. Equal pay for women, full legal rights and benefits for homosexuals and non discrimination against the downtrodden and poor.

“We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone.”

He stressed the need to preserve the earth and combat Climate change.

He asserted the United States’ role as leader of the world, maintained not through war but, “through strength of arms and rule of law.”

Obama also addressed immigration, a topic largely tabled in his first administration, saying it’s time to reform the process.

He closed with a charge to the public and to himself.

“With common effort and common purpose, with passion and dedication, let us answer the call of history, and carry into an uncertain future that precious light of freedom.”